A Tale Dark and Grimm

08May

Fairy tale adaptations are a great love of mine, and though there have been a slew of new adaptations for all ages in recent years, few have gotten it so very right as Adam Gidwitz. His Tale Dark and Grimm is a rich, delightful, humorous, multilayered remix of several tales, with Hansel and Gretel at the core. There are currently two copies circulating in my school library, and I can’t keep it on the shelf. It’s been returned with post-it note critiques from several students — aged 9 to 18 — stuck inside the back cover, and all are raves. One copy is currently in the hands of a very picky fourth grader, who has already rated it “better than The Graveyard Book,” which is high praise indeed.

I made a book trailer for a class assignment after first reading it last fall. It’s a bit on the long side (to meet the requirements of the assignment, and also to match the song I set it to, Alasdair Roberts‘ gorgeous “Under No Enchantment But My Own”), but I liked the result well enough to send it to the author. Much to my great surprise and pleasure, Mr. Gidwitz enjoyed enough to send me a signed copy of the book (and signed bookplates to put in the copy I had previously purchased, and which I subsequently donated to the school library in his name). Enjoy my trailer, and the (much shorter) official book trailer, then get your hands on a copy immediately — you won’t regret it.